Path of the Assassin
by Luxurien
Summary: Killua is 19 and well on his way to being a great blacklist hunter. His family is beginning to realize that Killua might really follow that path forever – so they devise a plan to show him what he was really meant to do. Canary x Killua.
1. Chapter 1: Missing Scientist

Path of the Assassin

Summary: Killua is 19 and well on his way to being a great blacklist hunter. His family is beginning to realize that Killua might really follow that path forever – so they devise a plan to show him what he was really meant to do. Canary x Killua.

Rating: T for violence, maybe language, blood, gore and some slightly nsfw content. Nothing too crazy.

* * *

Chapter 1 – In Search of a Missing Scientist

Rain poured down in heavy droplets outside of a small hut in the desert. The place was wild – there was no civilization for miles all around. It was not a place most people would expect to find an A ranking criminal. Roan Nikola was a scientist. He specialized in medicine. He was one of the best, one of the top 250 in his field in the world. But then he got bored. He started to think. Roan hadn't had time to think since he began school – he just dedicated his entire life to what he did. He began to think about natural selection and about how much of a problem overcrowding was. He began to wonder if maybe it was time for nature to decrease the population once more. Cleanse it so to speak.

So he did what any self respecting scientist would do – he created the ultimate species. It was a microbial species known as Staphylococcus Consceleratus. This parasite would infect its host and there it would cause itchiness, red skin, scalding as if the skin was burning, but nothing major – at first. Within two weeks the victim's skin would begin to deteriorate until the muscle and bone beneath was visible. It would spread by any contact of the skin, or through saliva. By itself, it wasn't dangerous. Any human living in a completely pristine, clean environment would be fine (well, as fine as any person can be with no skin). But humans didn't live in labs, they lived outside. Without skin, they would be extremely prone to infection, and most died before their skin degraded away.

Nikola took his dangerous microbe and began by sneaking into a school cafeteria at one of the largest cities in the world – and spreading his microbe carefully into the chocolate pudding. Approximately 700 students were infected that day from the pudding, and within 24 hours the families of those 700 students were infected as well. The Association of Infectious Diseases caught on relatively quick – it is their job after all. However, by the time they quarantined the city, the problem had spread far beyond what could easily be fixed. Scientists began to work on a cure, and the microbe was quickly traced back to a missing scientist from a facility in Horaste, a city dedicated to research. Not only had the scientist mysteriously gone missing, but so had some important organisms. The facility had attempted to cover it up, but when the disease spread, they had their suspicions. Thus the hunt for Roan Nikola began.

Roan had of course, an "antidote." What self respecting scientist wouldn't have one in case he infected himself? But he had hidden it away, and more importantly, he was working on his next great achievement. After watching one too many zombie horror movies, he wanted to make his own zombie horror movie – in real life! At the same time, he had to get away from the public's eye – he knew they were out looking for him. That's why he was in a desert, gathering samples from the insects that he believed showed signs of zombie like tendencies, such as an ability to continue on effortlessly without limbs.

* * *

Kalluto scratched his arms, red all over. It had been a day since the city he was in had become almost completely infected. He wasn't aware of the infection when he entered the city – he just knew he had a job. He had to kill the owner of a chain of casinos. No big deal, he did it all the time. Kalluto had completely destroyed his victim, and a small amount of blood from the victim's body touched Kalluto's cheek. He was infected.

Knowing the severity of the problem, he had a phone in his hand. He had a lot of choices, but right now there was only one person he really wanted to see. Kalluto loved his family, he loved being an assassin, he loved his life. He also remembered as a little kid playing with his big brother, Killua. Killua had become his favorite brother after some circumstances as children. He had thought that if he joined the Phantom Troupe he could convince his brother to see things his way, see that life as an assassin was great, that life as a Zoldyck was great. Despite his best efforts, Killua never really saw things his way.

Kalluto's thumb slid across the blank screen idly as he thought about his brother. In the past few years Killua had become well known as a blacklist hunter and had brought down some pretty notable criminals. Would he be interested in this scientist? What if he was busy? In the back of Kalluto's mind, images of three boys who dared to step into the dangerous Zoldyck mansion, risking their lives for Killua. A pang of jealousy resonated through him. Kalluto itched again, and griped the concrete wall he was sitting on tightly, causing it to break into pieces.

Kalluto sighed and raised the phone, dialing his brother. He wasn't afraid of death – but he wanted his last few moments to be worth something. Sort of. Also, he didn't want to go home and be seen as a failure by the rest of the family – or infect them. He also didn't want to turn to the troupe. They had become something like friends to him over the years – what was left of them anyway. But he didn't think they truly cared for him, like he knew Killua did deep down.

"Hello? Kal?" Killua's concerned voice answered the phone. Of course he was concerned, Kalluto thought. He never called his brother. They hardly saw eachother.

"Killua…" Kalluto began, feeling a lump in his throat. He felt a wave of unfamiliar emotions rush through him and he no longer knew what to say.

"Where are you?" Killua's voice was no longer concerned, but serious.

"Cocasse." Kalluto answered softly.

"I'm coming, stay where you are." The phone disconnected.

_He would drop everything the minute I called him? _Kalluto thought, sliding down the wall and enclosing himself into a ball. Some part of him was happy, an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. _Wait, he's coming! If he touches me, he's just as doomed as I am! _

Kalluto called Killua again. And again. But the phone went straight to voicemail. He texted again, and again, and received no response.

As the minutes ticked away Kalluto began to shake, he was afraid. He didn't want his brother to suffer too – but how was he supposed to warn him?

Suddenly Kalluto felt a powerful En and just barely managed to look up to see a tall figure with icy blue eyes looking down at him as the sun was setting. Killua's hair was electrified, he obviously ran all the way here from wherever he was using godspeed. His white hair was just as unruly as ever, but now ran down to his shoulders, which were larger and muscular. He wore long black pants and a simple white t-shirt.

Kalluto had also grown, his hair reached just past his shoulders, and he was a lot taller now. He was still thin though – and he still wore a traditional Japanese Kimono. Right now, it was black with red and yellow leaves.

"Killua don't get close to me! I have the fruit disease!" Ah fruit disease. It got its name from the fact that fruits and vegetables rot skin first (as far as you see I guess). Seriously, someone should've come up with a better name, but that's the best the media could come up with. Whatever. Panic was all over Kalluto's face as he exclaimed those words, he was clearly not in his usual state of mind.

Killua knelt down so he was at eye level with his brother. "How long do you have?"

"About six days maybe…" Kalluto said, looking down.

For the longest time, Killua watched his brother, their eyes meeting. Kalluto was lost between panic, shock, awe and so much else. He honestly did not expect anything to happen – and everything was happening so fast. Killua's fists clenched and his eyebrows momentarily twitched.

"Come with me." Killua said, with his face betraying no emotion. "Kal… I won't let you die. I promise." Killua slowly stood up, and seemed to be thinking.

Kalluto watched his brother equally lost in thought, he had never realized Killua cared so much. Especially considering they hadn't really spoken to each other much over the years. Why had he always assumed Killua didn't care? Once again those overwhelming emotions from earlier rushed through him and tears formed in his eyes – though they never fell. Kalluto bit his lip as regret washed all through him. He regretted joining the Phantom Troupe. He regretted not just going up to his brother and telling him he also wanted to be friends. He regretted not spending the past few years having fun with him and just sitting in the back, enduring life, and hating every moment of it. Most importantly, he hated himself for not realizing that he wasn't as alone as he thought he was. In that final moment when he need him most, the one who was there was Killua.

His thoughts raced back to a time almost thirteen years ago, and he felt relief. Maybe things would be okay, maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought.

Killua's godspeed relaxed, and his hair fell into place. He began to run at a pace with which Kalluto could keep up. The two ran together for a few hours, night had began to set, but they were both used to the dark. Also, nen allowed them to feel the other through their auras.

"I'm sorry to bother you like this." Kalluto said as they ran.

"… Bother me? Kal, why didn't you call me sooner?" Killua answered. "We're brothers. I care about you. We don't have to talk all the time for that to be true. You should know that."

Yes, Kalluto knew that. He knew that, that's why Killua was his favorite. "I was afraid to tell you. I didn't really know what to do when this happened." It had been a long time since Kalluto had spoken so honestly to anyone – but this was Killua. He could do that. "By the way, where are we going?"

"We're here." Killua said. They were at a small house in the countryside. Kalluto immediately recognized the aura coming from inside and took a step back. "Come inside, trust me."

Kalluto clenched his fan tightly and he entered the house with Killua.


	2. Chapter 2: Fury

Path of the Assassin

* * *

Chapter 2 – Fury

Nikola was writing in his journal when he first felt it. How can the feeling be described? It was knowledge – knowledge of death. It was gravity forcing him to feel pressure like nothing before. It was fear. It crept up on him and within seconds he knew he would die. He began to hyperventilate as sweat poured down his body, he seemed to age within moments as his face distorted. The pen in his hand fell and Roan lost all ability to think.

A feeling behind his neck alerted him that someone – or something was there. A sharp weapon perhaps? A grim reaper?

"Get up slowly, and turn around." Nikola obliged the voice of death, a voice that was in itself dangerous. It was like the calm before a storm.

Nikola pushed his chair back, the feeling behind his neck never leaving as he did so. It was adjusting to his movements. When he turned around he saw a towering figure close to him, with a pale muscular arm outstretched towards his neck, the nails on his fingers pointed into a deadly weapon. The man's eyes were like a bottomless pit, cold, dark and unforgiving. Nikola saw his life flash before his eyes and the world around the man began to spin.

"Where is the antidote?"

"On the shelf with the label 0233."

"Is there anything else I should know or be aware of in regards to the disease(s) you have spread?"

"No."

There was silence.

And then Nikola was no more.

* * *

Killua stopped by the Association of Infectious Diseases and had the cure replicated. With two syringes in hand he left the association and headed back to the house in the countryside, his mind elsewhere. Killua had become a blacklist hunter with the ultimate goal of capturing his own family – his own father. It had been something he had just offhandedly said to Gon during the hunter exam, but years earlier when they had split ways he had no idea what to do anymore. He was a hunter, he wanted to have fun. Eventually, he followed some leads on interesting criminals and somehow he was doing the same thing he did as an assassin except the name of his profession changed.

Gon had followed in his father's footsteps and was currently excavating old ruins, most of them in the dark continent that never seemed to run out of strange creatures and strange people. Killua had joined for a few years, but eventually he got bored. Every few months they would meet up again and it would be like old times, but the things they enjoyed doing were not the same anymore. Sometimes, they would get a common goal or mission, and they would meet again.

Leorio had become a doctor long ago, and spent a significant amount of time traveling to poverty ridden places and helping as many people as he could. Sometimes he would join Killua on certain missions, especially if it was requested by the Hunter Association, something which Leorio had taken an active part of. He was very popular as a hunter, and had already become one of the most famous. He also earned his single star hunter card for his work in medicine and with people.

Kurapica had found all the eyes of the Kurta clan and succeeded in disbanding the Troupe. That didn't mean the members were all gone – far from it. His no kill policy had resulted in many of the members being alive, but in different situations. After his success he had planned to be a blacklist hunter – but plans don't always work out. His travels to the dark continent had awakened a newfound interest in the world around him, and in his own bloodline. He believed that the Kurta clan may have had some ties to the dark continent with their scarlet eyes – and he was looking for more information there. Kurapica and Gon were also working together to create a map of the dark continent with detailed information, along with a group of others who had the same goal.

Killua's thoughts switched to his friendship with Gon. He had learned a lot from his friends, and from Gon, especially about friendship. However, Gon was the type of person who could live in the wild without human contact for months or years at a time. He didn't need people, he only saw what was in front of him. He valued a lot of people greatly, but he didn't need to see them all the time. Just like Aunt Mito, he was willing to leave behind anyone for his adventures. Killua didn't value Gon any less, he was still his best friend. But things definitely changed. Killua needed human contact, he wasn't as in tune with nature and animals as Gon was. He enjoyed society, even if he didn't necessarily say it like that. He also couldn't leave behind people valuable to him for long periods of time – which is why he always met with Gon, Leorio and Kurapica regularly. But they weren't the only ones important to him…

Having arrived at his destination, Killua pushed his thoughts to the back of his head and opened the door to the countryside house.

"Killllluaaa!" Alluka smiled excitedly as her big brother entered the house. Her skin was red all over, with open wounds from scratching too long.

"Hi…" Kalluto said, somewhat awkwardly. He didn't feel like he belonged, with the strange greeting between the two. Kalluto's condition was worse than Alluka's with a considerable amount of skin deteriorating.

"I have the cure, let me inject it in both of you." Killua said.

"Okayyy." Alluka said happily. The years had been good to her, she had grown taller, and her hair longer. She was more mature, but still had some of her childlike personality. When she had seen Kalluto, she had immediately hugged him and gotten the infection as well. And she didn't regret it.

Killua carefully injected both Alluka and Kalluto with the cure, making sure not to touch them just yet.

"How are you two feeling?"

"I'm good, and now I'll be even better!" Alluka replied.

Kalluto stayed silent.

"What about you Kal?" Killua asked. Alluka and Killua both shifted their gaze towards him.

"I-uh." Kalluto began looking at the faces of his brothers. "I'm okay."

"Good." Killua smiled in the way he did sometimes. "Get some rest, if you guys are better tomorrow let's go watch a movie or something."

* * *

_Watch a movie or something? _Kalluto thought. He had never actually done that kind of thing. But he wanted to.

"I'll sleep next to you, Kalluto." Alluka moved into bed next to Kalluto and hugged him.

"Ehh?" Kalluto was a bit confused but Alluka had just forced herself in. What could he do?

Alluka had been incredibly welcoming when Killua brought Kalluto in. He thought Alluka hated him – because he hated Alluka. He had fallen for everything his family had said about Alluka – and was quickly realizing it was all false. Alluka was… _nice_. He hadn't meet Nanika yet, and he still kind of didn't want to. Somehow it felt like Alluka was light. She had tried her best to make him comfortable even at the cost of getting sick herself.

Some part of him had wondered why Alluka hadn't made any requests or why Killua hadn't just cured everyone using her ability – but he felt it wasn't his place to ask.

* * *

Killua smiled as he watched his younger siblings sleep. He should've been happy that they were okay. But he wasn't happy. He was furious. When he saw Kalluto he saw a broken person staring back at him at Cocasse City. He had been furious with himself when he saw how Alluka was imprisoned and chastised himself for not helping his little sister earlier.

After using Alluka to save Gon, he had promised to never "use" her again. He had trained her to stop making requests to people she didn't trust– he didn't think it was right. They would take advantage of her, or have no clue what they were getting into and die. Her power should be used for herself, not for others. She and Nanika talked to each other and would use their power as they saw fit, which was rarely now. He had spent a lot of time with Alluka, showing her the world she had missed out on all those years and helping her make new friends. In fact, Alluka was dating Zushi, who was now a floor master at Heavens Arena. He couldn't be happier for her, and most importantly, he knew he made the right decision freeing her from the Zoldyck estate all those years ago.

So how could he have ignored the pain Kalluto was also suffering? Did he just assume he was enjoying everything? Kalluto was definitely more brutal than Alluka. But then again, so was he. Did he just assume Kalluto was just like Illumi? He wondered just how many were hurt by the family, and not just those were killed or the families of those killed. How many in his lineage suffered just like this?


	3. Chapter 3: Conversation Between Siblings

Path of the Assassin

Chapter 3 – Conversation between Siblings

Kalluto awoke by instinct when Alluka turned over in her sleep. The dawn's light filled the room in the countryside house, illuminating the plain room. There was only a bed and a side table in the room – nothing more. Kalluto knew this couldn't be Alluka's usual place of residence – after all she had a taste for… overstuffing her room with things, and everything had to be bright. This room was made of wood, just like the house, and completely unpainted.

As he made his way out of bed and to the living room, Kalluto felt Killua's friendly aura outside. Normally Kalluto couldn't feel Killua's aura at all, and he couldn't imagine Killua letting his guard down with all his training. What made him feel so secure in this place that he would publicly announce himself so?

Outside, Killua was sitting in the grass watching the sun rise over the hills. There was nothing to see for miles around in any direction – it was completely deserted. Okay, not completely. There was a small rabbit in his rabbit hole several feet away from where Kalluto stood as he watched his brother.

"What's on your mind?" Killua asked. "You're anxious."

"How could you tell?" Kalluto thought he was hiding his emotions perfectly. His aura shouldn't have been giving anything away either. Kalluto's mind went back to a time where a certain magician managed to see through Kalluto's perfect zetsu. "Was I too obvious?"

"No, you were perfect." Killua's words caused a pang of anger which quickly subsided. The exact same words. If it was perfect, Killua shouldn't have been able to tell. It wasn't perfect. _Is he making fun of me? Does he think I'm so weak he doesn't have to even hide his aura? So weak he has to lie about how good I am?_ Kalluto shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind once again. He was used to being weak.

"I'm wondering…" Kalluto paused a moment. He _was_ anxious about something. His natural instinct was to assess the strengths of everyone around him. Killua was great at hiding his abilities – he must've been incredibly strong. Was it too blunt to just come out and ask Killua? "About how you managed to find an A ranking criminal who was over three thousand miles away within one day, go to AID (Association of Infectious Diseases), and get back within one day."

"Oh it was easy. Do you remember the blond haired boy with blue eyes who came our place years ago?"

"With the other two, yeah."

"He has the ability to "scry" basically. I just brought him a sample of the disease, in the form of a person I kidnapped and tied up. That was all he needed to trace the location of the scientist on a map, and so I went to the scientist, asked him a few questions, killed him… Came back."

"That doesn't explain how you managed to do it so fast." Kalluto wondered if he was inquiring too far. Killua didn't seem to mind the questions though… He had changed a lot.

"You got me. That's because the place we're in right now is not a place on the world map. Right now we are in Alluka's world." Killua chuckled at this point. "You don't believe me? Because it's too plain? Don't worry, it's a world she created for me."

_Can he read my mind? He's not even looking at me! He's looking at the sunrise._

"I can't read your mind, Kalluto. I can just guess that's what you'd think." Killua let his back fall into the grass and his eyes met Kalluto's. "In this world, it is easier to travel from one place to another. I can run fairly fast, but there are about eight different locations in the real world which can be accessed from here, and which can be used to access this place. I just chose the places closest to where I wanted to go in order to get to where I needed to quickly."

"Why did you kill the scientist? What if he lied to you? What if he gave you the wrong thing?" Killua feigned an annoyed look at the questions.

"You think I'm a blacklist hunter who doesn't know how to interrogate my victims? Really?"

"I didn't mean that."

Killua smiled. "You don't have to be so serious."

"Yeah.."

"So about that movie… Anything in particular you like?"

"I've never gone to see a movie."

"What you serious?" Killua sat up watched his brother seriously. Even with all the incredibly difficult training he endured as a Zoldyck he still made time for movies, video games and other things… It never occurred to him that it would've been different for Kalluto.

"Yeah. I always just stayed by mother, never really bothered to do something she wasn't also doing."

"Well now we definitely have to go watch that movie." Killua grinned.

* * *

"Kalluto! I'm glad to see you're doing so much better." Alluka said in her usual joyous manner, happiness spread all over her. She was the opposite of any image expected of a Zoldyck. Was she really one of them?

"Same for you. I'm sorry I infected you." Kalluto wasn't really sorry, but felt it was the thing to say in this type of situation. And it's not like he wasn't glad his brother hadn't shown such concern for him. But was that concern real? Was Alluka capable of really caring for anyone? The monster that he was brought up to believe Alluka was shouldn't have been. And then there was that confusing fact that Alluka was his _brother_, yet Killua always referred to Alluka as his sister. Kalluto wondered if that meant he should do the same thing.

"It was my fault, I just came up and hugged you!" Alluka jumped towards Kalluto and caught him in another hug just as soon as she said this. "I'm glad you're alright, I missed you a lot."

"You did?"

"Of course! I also miss Milluki and Illumi but they never come to see me."

"Well… Yeah I guess." Kalluto was about to mention that Alluka never really came to see them either, but then remembered how Alluka was treated by the others, including himself. _I wouldn't go meet people who didn't even like me either. _

"But you came to see me! We're friends now."

"Really?" Kalluto was surprised. Alluka didn't think of his arrival as a pit stop on his way to recovery. She didn't think Kalluto was there just because Killua brought him without even knowing where he was headed.

"Yeah, of course! That means me so happy." Alluka said. It appeared as if she was radiating energy. Alluka's aura seemed to grow and intensify and it was _happy_. She genuinely meant every word of what she was saying. "Also, I can't wait for you to meet Nanika."

"What, right now?"

"Whenever you want! He's in the kitchen right now, but I'm sure you two will get along."

"What? Isn't Nanika… Inside of you?"

"Not in this world he isn't."

"Nanika is a boy?"


	4. Chapter 4: Gon's World

Path of the Assassin

* * *

Chapter 4 – Gon's World

Killua watched as Nanika and Alluka fawned over Kalluto. Geez, the poor kid looked like he was going to die of embarrassment from all the attention. Well, as embarrassed as he could look considering he was a master of hiding emotions.

_Should I save him? _Killua thought. _No, I'll let him have some fun._ As Killua watched them his thoughts went back to the dark world within his own family. These few brotherly moments they had experienced had caused a revelation – one of the many Killua had over the past few years that completely changed his perspective and view of the world.

Killua's first major revelation was after his friends had come to save him from the Zoldycks many years ago. He had realized that people weren't that bad. There were good people, a lot of them were fun. He realized friendship was important. The more time he spent with Gon, the more he began to see the world in a positive light, seeing the best even in the worst of people. He had given up killing altogether – his goal was to change people. He admired Gon, who had the ability to change people and to get them on his side – just as he did during the hunter exam. When he and Gon had decided to let Genthru – the bomber on Greed Island – live, he had no objections. Genthru seemed to have changed, he seemed to have given up and wanted his friend to be okay. That was the mistake that caused Killua's second major revelation.

* * *

"Gon!" A younger, fifteen year old Killua shouted out to his best friend who was several feet ahead of him. "Wait up!"

"No way! You keep up!" Gon shouted back, running even faster, through the glass doors of the airport.

Killua responded by activating godspeed and running in front of Gon, so that Gon managed to stop just barely before bumping into Killua.

"Killua no fair!"

"How's that no fair, idiot!"

"It's unfair because it is!" Gon and Killua began to babble back and forth, while a tall suited figure approached them.

"Gon, Killua. You two should sit down for what I'm about to say." The figure said seriously.

"Leorio!" Gon began with a smile on his face, but upon looking at the man named Leorio's face, the smile disappeared. It was replaced by dread.

"What happened?" Killua asked, guiding the others to the airship they were taking to Whale Island.

"I'll tell you guys once we're in our airship." Leorio was looking around uncomfortably.

The trio got onto the private airship – normally the only way to Whale Island was through a ship. Today, Leorio had rented a private airship for this occasion. An attendant led them to a private, lush room with velvety seats and expensive decorations.

"This isn't going to be easy." Leorio paused for a moment, clearly unsure of how to continue. "I'll just come right out and say it. Whale Island was attacked."

"What?!" Killua said shocked. It was such a small place, if someone wanted to attack a place, they would logically go to a large or well known city, right? Why would anyone pick a place like Whale Island?

"Yes, it was a bomb. Followed by several suicide bombers. The strange thing is those suicide bombers were long term inhabitants of the island, and there were no known predispositions of those people to have done such a thing."

"That's very strange, what else do we know?" Killua asked. He was suddenly grateful for the private airship that would take them as quickly as possible to the island, as well as Leorio's support and immediate action. Among all the others, Leorio took the most care of the group, of his friends. As soon as he knew something was up, he was not only involved, but doing everything in his power to help.

"Not much more I can say. I just knew we should get involved quickly before more victims arose. We should get there as soon as possible and see what we can do." Leorio said. "And Gon.." Leorio stopped talking.

Gon's eyes had glassed over. He was completely silent, expressionless and his aura murderous.

"Gon, it's alright! I'm sure Aunt Mito is fine!" Killua tried gently pinching Gon's cheeks in an attempt to cheer him up.

"Let's leave him alone." Leorio said.

The rest of the airship ride continued with great tension. No one felt like talking or joking around. Gon was completely out of it.

"We're here." Gon said without looking out of the window. And he was right – the airship was hovering over the island now. However, the airship had no airport to land in and was going to turn around, it was up to the three hunters to jump down from the ship and onto the island.

They opened the door and jumped off together, as the attendant bid them goodbye and closed the door behind them.

As soon as they hit the ground, Gon ran towards his old home, leaving behind his friends.

"Leorio, follow Gon. I want to check the site of the bomb and the victims." Killua said. Normally, he would've wanted to be Gon's emotional support – and he was also worried about Mito -, however he didn't trust Leorio to know what to look for. Killua had a bad feeling about the situation and he had to confirm it.

It wasn't difficult to find the site of the bomb, it left a crater that filled the biggest city on the island. Killua used zetsu and went to the police offices, where he didn't have to look far once again to find the suicide bombers plopped on a table for investigation in the lower levels.

One look at the suicide bombers was all it took for Killua to know it was not a suicide bomber. He had seen this before. It was Countdown, an ability used by Genthru on Greed Island to kill players. The bomb's range and power had obviously increased, but the nen surrounding the bodies afterwards was the same as before. Rage and confusion began to spread through Killua – his hands in fists he left the building with a bloodlust he hadn't felt in a while.

* * *

Killua had been trained in tracking. He had to track and stalk his target for days at a time even. It also helped that Killua had met Genthru before. But he wasn't Gon – who could probably find him with scent alone.

Still in zetsu, Killua imagined himself as nothing more than an inanimate object. He couldn't give his position away through the intense bloodlust he felt. He glided off the street, searching for signs of the bomber. He knew last time the bomber had used a cave as a hideout – would he do the same thing again? Killua scanned the ground looking for familiar traces of the bomber's existence. As an assassin he had been trained to memorize at least three identifying characteristics, such as footprints, that could be used in helping to track them later. He did this automatically to almost everyone. Why three? What if footprints, for example, could no longer be used because the opponent lost his legs? Always consider the unexpected.

Genthru however, was a pro hunter. He lived a life that would cause people to hunt him down. Naturally, he was good at hiding his tracks. But Killua was better at finding them. Genthru's quality that made him stick out the most among the normal citizens of whale island was his psychopathy. His bloodlust. Those who killed, those in the underworld, they all had a scent. The scent of a killer. It was something Killua naturally felt and always identified with. Normally, in a city, that alone wouldn't be enough to sense someone's existence. However, in a small place like Whale Island, with relatively few nen users and almost no crime rate, it wouldn't be hard to find Genthru.

And it wasn't. Genthru wasn't masking his presence in the forests in the outskirts of town. No, Killua recognized instantly that he wanted to be found.

"Ahh.. I was hoping the other brat would be with you." Genthru said murderously. His aura flared as he attacked Killua.

Killua dodged and asked. "Why did you do this? I thought you changed." Killua was in shock. He had watched so many people change their minds and be calmed by Gon, be affected by him. He was the light that outshone the darkness in others. During the hunter exam arc he had managed to get Hanzo to surrender through his heartfelt thoughts. He had gotten Killua to believe in people. He had managed to calm Palm, bring strength to Knuckle and Shoot when they were fighting against their greatest foes. Killua had gone along with this belief that the world was a better place wherever Gon had been – he changed things for the better.

"What? Are you still the stupid kid I met two years ago?" Genthru laughed as he continued his onslaught. "Welcome to the real world! Even back then, when you captured me, I was full of hatred and anger. People like me can't be fixed. No, we exist to kill. That is our sole purpose. The entire time you guys gave your frilly little speech on not killing I was plotting my revenge, for this moment, for this time…. DIE!" As Genthru ended his own little speech, he created an explosion through his arm onto the floor and destroyed the ground.

Before Genthru managed to stand back up, Killua had activated godspeed and had his sharpened knifey fingertips piercing through Genthru's heart.

That was the day Killua had his second major revelation. Some people couldn't be saved. Some people had to die. Some people were so dark even Gon's light couldn't fix them. No, there was more it than that. Gon would have killed Genthru as much as Killua had just now. Gon refused to kill until it was convenient to him – the image of Pitou's bloody corpse flashed in Killua's mind. Gon killed after the damage was done. Killua should have known better. Gon refused to see people's past – that's why he was so accepting of Killua. But because of that he couldn't easily predict the future – he lived in the present. Wouldn't it be better to stop the damage from occurring? Wouldn't it be better to prevent this catastrophe? Everything now could've been stopped. Everything.

_Gon… You be the light. I'll be the dark. I will do what you can't do. You will change those who can be changed, and I will remove those who can't. You live in a fantasy world where everything is perfect, and I'll make that world real._

In the distance, a man named Illumi had seen the entire thing and sent a single text. _Phase one complete._

Yes, Killua had his second major revelation that day.


End file.
